This Weeks Day-By-Day Picks
Thursday, October 9, 2003
Today’s Just Off Broadway production — titled It’s About Time — is actually not about time at all. It’s about a guy who reflects on his life: ups and downs, challenges and victories. And though this sounds a bit familiar, it gets interesting when you consider that it’s a life in one act, divided into three segments: “The Way It Is Today, Gentlemen,” “I’m Here to Stay” and “The Ragman.” The play starts at 8 p.m. today, tomorrow and Saturday. The Just Off Broadway Theatre is located at 3051 Central. For information or to make reservations, call 816-765-5767.
Friday, October 10, 2003
Some tango dreams — i.e., the dream that weekly dances will continue at the former Fedora’s — have been thwarted. But others can still come true. In the Tango Dreams performance at Drexel Hall (3301 Baltimore) from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., gurus Fernanda Ghi and Guillermo Merlo use seductive moves to tell stories about relationships. “Our tango is the tango of today,” the duo boldly asserts. So if what you’re hoping to see is the tango of last week, this may not be the show for you. Otherwise? Solid. The $25 ticket covers appetizers and drinks, not to mention music by Tango Lorca. For information or to sign up for workshops during the duo’s visit, call 816-931-3554.
Saturday, October 11, 2003
People consistently enjoy blue creatures who walk on two feet, a fact established by Sesame Street‘s Cookie Monster and reinforced by Sully of Monsters, Inc. , both of whom appeal to a discerning viewership, whereas Barney (who is purple) does not. What more encouragement do you need to go see Blue Man Group tonight at Starlight Theatre (6601 Swope Parkway)? The troupe combines sight gags, physical stunts, music and audience participation; people sitting in the front rows wear rain ponchos to protect themselves from the hail of paint, food and other debris launched from the stage. The spectacle should be experienced at least once, for sure. We don’t know whether it should be experienced twice, though, so don’t complain when you don’t see us there. The show begins at 7:30 p.m., and tickets cost between $29.50 and $49.50. For information, call 816-363-7827.
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Why does Enon always come to Lawrence so late on Sunday nights? We don’t know, but at least it’s worth the trip. If you like Blonde Redhead but can also get into more dancey, pop stuff (think the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds meets the Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots), you’ll have a great time. You may also get some good style tips; band members are fabulous-looking, indeed. For some preshow fun, visit enon.tv. If you find the site’s playful simplicity maddening, you might fare better at home. If it leaves you wanting more, you can get exactly what you want at the Replay Lounge (946 Massachusetts Street) at 11 p.m. Admission is only $3 — a steal. And with these crisp October nights we’re having, the heating lamps in the beer garden will probably be on, which makes getting toasted that much toastier. For information, call 785-749-7676.
For an earlier show geared more toward the straight-up indie-rock fan, Lawrence also welcomes Grandaddy and the Starlight Mints. As an opening act at the Granada almost three years ago, Grandaddy stole a bit of the limelight from headliner Elliott Smith. The band also contributed to the standout soundtrack of a trippy, low-budget, 1997 movie called Dream with the Fishes, which not upliftingly chronicled the misadventures of a suicidal voyeur lacking follow-through. The Starlight Mints play energizing and precise up-tempo songs that are bound to become anthems for a small but eager fanbase any day now. The show begins at Liberty Hall (644 Massachusetts Street) at 9 p.m. For information, call 785-749-1972.
Monday, October 13, 2003
We understand that you are an expert when it comes to feeling yourself up, but that doesn’t mean you are competent at performing your own breast exams. At Menorah Medical Center (119th Street and Nall in Overland Park) today through Wednesday, physicians administer free breast exams and offer free instruction on how to perform monthly self-exams as part of the B.E.S.T. (Breast Examination Self-Teaching) Clinic, held three times a year. Participants can attend only once, so pay attention. And remember, when it comes to breasts, the best kind of love is self-love. To schedule an appointment, call 913-498-6634.
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Granted, the meet-up phenomenon has gotten kind of loopy. But today’s Bookcrossing.com meet-up (at a location not yet decided at press time) could satisfy people who are curious about getting involved. Bookcrossing.com is part book club, part message-in-a-bottle experiment. People with too many books can take a couple of good ones that they can’t quite bring themselves to sell and set them free for others to find. By first registering at Bookcrossing.com, book givers get ID numbers to write inside book covers with a note directing book finders to the Web site, where they can start a log of the books’ travels. (Coffee shops and bus stops appear to be popular book-release locations.) By attending tonight’s meet-up, you can find others who believe it’s reasonable to treat books this obsessively. There are already tons of Kansas Citians registered at Bookcrossing.com, which is — in the nerdiest way possible — awesome. For information, see bookcrossing.meetup.com.
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Here we go again. President George W. Bush rolled through town just last month. Now, keep an eye out for Democrats trying to keep up with the president’s insane fund-raising efforts. As anyone who attended the Al Franken appearance last week learned several times over from enthusiastic flier pimps, Vermont Governor Howard Dean beats the campaign drum live at the Uptown Theater (3700 Broadway) tonight, along with a musical performance by the Allied Spirits. The doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets cost $50. As Franken himself made clear, the importance of supporting Bush’s opponents is not — in the president’s word — to be misunderestimated. For details, call 816-842-3636, extension 233.
